The European Union expressed full support for the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria (IIMP) and called on the Syrian transitional government to deepen cooperation with the body, including through a Memorandum of Understanding and the establishment of an IIMP office in Syria. In a statement delivered on 22 July 2026 at a UN General Assembly informal briefing, the EU, speaking on behalf of its 27 member states and aligned countries, welcomed the IIMP's victim-centred approach and the active role of families and civil society in its work. The EU also encouraged the Syrian People's Assembly to advance transitional justice and establish a legal framework to address the issue of missing persons.
The statement, delivered by the EU Delegation to the UN in New York, comes amid ongoing efforts to address the fate of hundreds of thousands of missing persons from the Syrian conflict. The EU noted progress by the Syrian transitional government's National Commission for Missing Persons in setting up national structures, but urged further engagement with the IIMP to ensure complementary rather than competitive work streams. The EU also highlighted the need for unimpeded communication and information sharing among all relevant actors, citing continued disappearances in various parts of the country.
In a related development, the EU recalled that in November 2025 it organised the first-ever Day of Dialogue in Syria, bringing together over 300 representatives from Syrian civil society and transitional authorities to discuss support for the transition. The EU announced its intention to convene a second Day of Dialogue later in 2026. The statement reaffirmed the EU's commitment to supporting transitional justice and accountability mechanisms as key to national reconciliation and building a peaceful, stable, inclusive and democratic Syria.
The IIMP, established by the UN General Assembly, aims to clarify the fate and whereabouts of missing persons and provide solace to their families, which the EU described as crucial for broader transitional justice in Syria through a Syrian-led process supported by the international community.